Mead Johnson Nutrition Company was a leading decliner within the food & beverage industry, falling $0.88 (-1.1%) to $81.35 on light volume

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model

Mead Johnson Nutrition Company ( MJN) pushed the Food & Beverage industry lower today making it today's featured Food & Beverage laggard. The industry as a whole closed the day down 0.2%. By the end of trading, Mead Johnson Nutrition Company fell $0.88 (-1.1%) to $81.35 on light volume. Throughout the day, 594,439 shares of Mead Johnson Nutrition Company exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 1,479,900 shares. The stock ranged in price between $81.03-$82.68 after having opened the day at $82.18 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $82.23. Other companies within the Food & Beverage industry that declined today were: Synutra International ( SYUT), down 6.7%, Primo Water ( PRMW), down 5.2%, Monster Beverage ( MNST), down 4.4% and National Beverage Corporation ( FIZZ), down 3.9%.

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Mead Johnson Nutrition Company manufactures, distributes, and sells infant formulas, children's nutrition, and other nutritional products. Mead Johnson Nutrition Company has a market cap of $16.5 billion and is part of the consumer goods sector. The company has a P/E ratio of 27.0, above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are up 24.8% year to date as of the close of trading on Thursday. Currently there are 5 analysts that rate Mead Johnson Nutrition Company a buy, no analysts rate it a sell, and 5 rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates Mead Johnson Nutrition Company as a buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its notable return on equity, expanding profit margins, good cash flow from operations, growth in earnings per share and revenue growth. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had lackluster performance in the stock itself.